‘Spin-heavy’ KKR not getting home advantage at Eden: Shakib

Kolkata, May 17 (IANS) Kolkata Knight Riders’ (KKR) all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan has expressed his displeasure at how “spin-less” the Eden Gardens wicket has been in the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL).

The Bangladeshi left-armer said he expected assistance from the pitch but it was unresponsive in their nine-wicket loss to Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) on Monday.

The defeat kept KKR second on the points with 14 points from 12 matches, two behind leaders Sunrisers Hyderabad. KKR still have two league matches and should ideally win both to ensure a safe passage to the play-offs.

“I can talk of myself and I would say yes, we are not getting the home advantage. We are a spin dependent team, so we always expect some assistance at home, from the strip at Eden,” Shakib said at the post-match media conference on Monday.

“We have not had that. It’s a bit disappointing for the players.”

The Bangladesh cricketer also leapt to his captain Gautam Gambhir’s defence who dropped Virat Kohli at 32. The talismanic Indian batsman went onto stay unbeaten at 75 and carried his side home chasing a target of 184 runs.

Asked if that is where KKR lost the match, Shakib said, “I don’t think it was a turning point. But since he was in good form, our chances would have been brighter had we not dropped the catch. May be AB de Villiers would have come under a bit more pressure. But I would never say we lost lost the match because of one catch.”

“They (RCB) have quality batsmen. The way they scored runs there was nothing much we could do. We tried our best but they played better cricket.”